Need advice on what to do with out of line " Acting 1SG " your opinion please

March 26th, 2013, 07:49 PM

Hello Fellow Service Member,

First of all please let me thank you for reading. I apologize for this being my first post, but I need some advice from a third party.

I have 16 + years enlisted in an National Guard Aviation unit in the South. I came from PV1 to SSG with completion of all BNCOC's ( ALC now ) in my field.
I recently was picked up by the Army Reserve for a Direct Commission based on my time in service and my College Degree, and have taken the Oath of Office only waiting for the USAR HRC to complete 368 Release to their component. I will be hopefully leaving to USAR late June. 16 years ladies and gentlemen, 16 years to make Officer.

My need for advice comes about from the National Guard " good ole-boy system ". In 2003 I attended WOCs at Ft. Rucker, at the time this was a six week course. I had endured four weeks of the course when I was injured and was sent to Med. hold over as a result of a broken wrist. I was sent back to my home unit where I worked as admin assistant for the remainder of my WOC orders, and had surgery to correct my wrist injury.

At this time I was a WOC ( Warrant Officer Candidate ), but was reverted back to a SPC ( E4 ) since I did not complete WOCS. During this time period a lot of the Iraq Freedom Campaign was starting to take place and my state had a shortage of Officers. A clause was in-acted allowing Warrant Officers to serve a Commanders because of this.
To make a long story short I get an over 40 brand new Warrant as a Commander and basically made life a living hell for me because I was considered I guess a " wash out " of the WOC school. Anyway I knew that would happen and just tried to deal with it. Around the same time a SPC from the motor-pool had a former motor-pool friend that was on the AGR ( active guard reserve ) board, and was hired on AGR as a Supply SGT E5 slot. This guy is about 4'6" and has a terrible inferiority complex defined in Webster's dictionary as an " Napoleon Complex " ; in all seriousness. So, an AGR E6 Training NCO opening comes about in my unit and this guy puts in and gets it, so now I have him in my unit. By this time I had made SGT by default with my time in grade as SPC by the way. About this time an E7 training/ Admin slot becomes available in our unit, but an E5 African American man is slotted for the E7 MOS that the E6 4" 6' guy wants, so the E6 calls the E5 and tells him he can pick up E6 if he switches MOS's. The E5 African American man is not on the up and up as far as slots and MTOE, and thinks that is a good deal, so he switches MOS and opens up the E7 MOS ( slot ) therefore allowing the 4'6" E6 to take that slot. Ok so now we have established this 4'6" E6 deceives other soldiers for personal gain. Next thing you know this 4'6" guy has jetted up to E7. The next part is that we have NO 1SG in our unit so this 4'6" now E7 volunteers to be the " Acting 1SG ". Well I am preparing at this time to take the GRE( Graduate School Admission Test ), and I need the Saturday of drill weekend off to take that. I go ask permission in person and the 4'6" E7 says he will ask CDR, so I walk out of his office and he calls the CDR on speaker phone behind closed doors as I began to hear my name and the Warrant Officer Commander state that I better be at Guard Drill, and that " I was worthless, and he had no use for me ". So I hear this, but never said anything, just made a mental note of what I was up against. when I asked the 4'6" E7 what he said, he told me I had to give a training class this drill and could not be excused. This is around 2006-2007 when this happened, and ever since the 4'6" E7 has been using me for his personal chores, having me do Flag Details without pay, asking me for free college football tickets, using my personal property ie: jets skis, etc. I just submit and let him have his way in hopes he will back off, only he expects more, more, more. I ran into a retired guard member who was my instructor pilot when I got my civilian pilot license one day at a gas station and he stated he heard " they " were trying to run me off. I only worked harder and did more then to try to prove to the commander I am not the " worthless guy " as I had heard him secretly state. I do this by working harder, longer than the next guy, and bust my ass for fund raisers for the unit, and make our unit shine when compared to others on running ranges and the such, to where it gets to the point the Warrant Officer Commander tells me I am doing a good job, and way to go. The E7 does not like this and attempts in inconspicuous ways to have me fail, I imagine to keep me as a personal do-boy since he knew he had a green light from the CDR to screw with me. Ok so we all get the point, but the latest thing he has done is put me on orders for ADOS (Additional Duty for Operational Support ) formally ADSW ( active duty special work ) for a month to burn money at end of fiscal year, but had me work TWO months telling me I was on orders which I have email proof of. Added to this 4'6" E7 had me work weekends and holidays, even was made to go get National Guard tents and put up at the local park on Labor Day, a Federal Holiday so some Gospel Group that his wife knows to use, during which time he was gone on vacation with his wife and her kids, I said that correct. I found out I was only on orders one month when I called TRI-CARE Reserve Select to tell them I had been on two months orders and I need to reinstate my Reserve Select from Active Duty Tri-care plan, at which time I as told was on orders for one month. I was called out by the 4'6" E7 to the CDR during the second month of orders saying I was there to work on an inspection and I had not even looked at the criteria for the inspection, when in all honesty he had me delivering vehicles for repair for other units to make him look good and the other units owe him favors, during the time I was supposedly on orders. Thing is this guy is a real prick with other soldiers too, and I remember two years back when he called a young SPC out in formation because the SPC had come forward to the 4'6"E7 acting 1SG after a suicide awareness class to identify he was having problems. So this 4'6" E7 ridicules a young soldier for admitting he is having personal troubles. Another young soldier is having medical problems and he is afraid to approach the 4'6" E7 for fear of being made fun of. The African American E5, now E6 has recently learned he was somewhat tricked to switch MOS's to open the E7 slot for the 4'6" E7 acting 1SG I have discussed.

This guy is out-of line and has created a Toxic Leadership causing dissension within enlisted leadership and soldiers. The Warrant Officer knows he cannot handle any spotlight from HQ higher up because he has held an Line Officer's slot by skin of his teeth for years and found a nest where he is comfortable and near his place of residence, so he has something to loose by asking for any intervention from HQ.

In december I was given the honor of being rated Excellent in ALL interview subjects at an Officer Field Board. I am not a " cry baby ", and not one time in 16 years have I made a complaint, not once. It comes a point to when you as a soldier become more concerned for the treatment of your younger soldiers and their needs, which this person does not know how to accommodate. I know if I say something it could bring the label of " he rocks the boat " guy, but I have earned respect and my place within the honest community of leaders in the National Guard, so I am not really worried about any repercussion for calling the aforementioned accountable for their actions, although I am concerned about the welcome home I will have if I decide to come back to the National Guard from Reserve in the future as i am still young in some sense being I joined at 17 years of age.

I have the Commanders Legal Guide , but soldiers and servicemen/women here, as peers and experienced members of our service. Which direction would you go with this? In your opinion please, the pros, and cons of the route you would take to deal with this situation. I know there are protocols in writing but please I am asking for your personal opinion and experiences. Sometimes the right way can get you left alone.

First of all please let me thank you for reading. I apologize for this being my first post, but I need some advice from a third party.

I have 16 + years enlisted in an National Guard Aviation unit in the South. I came from PV1 to SSG with completion of all BNCOC's ( ALC now ) in my field.
I recently was picked up by the Army Reserve for a Direct Commission based on my time in service and my College Degree, and have taken the Oath of Office only waiting for the USAR HRC to complete 368 Release to their component. I will be hopefully leaving to USAR late June. 16 years ladies and gentlemen, 16 years to make Officer.

My need for advice comes about from the National Guard " good ole-boy system ". In 2003 I attended WOCs at Ft. Rucker, at the time this was a six week course. I had endured four weeks of the course when I was injured and was sent to Med. hold over as a result of a broken wrist. I was sent back to my home unit where I worked as admin assistant for the remainder of my WOC orders, and had surgery to correct my wrist injury.

At this time I was a WOC ( Warrant Officer Candidate ), but was reverted back to a SPC ( E4 ) since I did not complete WOCS. During this time period a lot of the Iraq Freedom Campaign was starting to take place and my state had a shortage of Officers. A clause was in-acted allowing Warrant Officers to serve a Commanders because of this.To make a long story short I get an over 40 brand new Warrant as a Commander and basically made life a living hell for me because I was considered I guess a " wash out " of the WOC school. Anyway I knew that would happen and just tried to deal with it. Around the same time a SPC from the motor-pool had a former motor-pool friend that was on the AGR ( active guard reserve ) board, and was hired on AGR as a Supply SGT E5 slot. This guy is about 4'6" and has a terrible inferiority complex defined in Webster's dictionary as an " Napoleon Complex " ; in all seriousness. So, an AGR E6 Training NCO opening comes about in my unit and this guy puts in and gets it, so now I have him in my unit. By this time I had made SGT by default with my time in grade as SPC by the way. About this time an E7 training/ Admin slot becomes available in our unit, but an E5 African American man is slotted for the E7 MOS that the E6 4" 6' guy wants, so the E6 calls the E5 and tells him he can pick up E6 if he switches MOS's. The E5 African American man is not on the up and up as far as slots and MTOE, and thinks that is a good deal, so he switches MOS and opens up the E7 MOS ( slot ) therefore allowing the 4'6" E6 to take that slot. Ok so now we have established this 4'6" E6 deceives other soldiers for personal gain. Next thing you know this 4'6" guy has jetted up to E7. The next part is that we have NO 1SG in our unit so this 4'6" now E7 volunteers to be the " Acting 1SG ". Well I am preparing at this time to take the GRE( Graduate School Admission Test ), and I need the Saturday of drill weekend off to take that. I go ask permission in person and the 4'6" E7 says he will ask CDR, so I walk out of his office and he calls the CDR on speaker phone behind closed doors as I began to hear my name and the Warrant Officer Commander state that I better be at Guard Drill, and that " I was worthless, and he had no use for me ". So I hear this, but never said anything, just made a mental note of what I was up against. when I asked the 4'6" E7 what he said, he told me I had to give a training class this drill and could not be excused. This is around 2006-2007 when this happened, and ever since the 4'6" E7 has been using me for his personal chores, having me do Flag Details without pay, asking me for free college football tickets, using my personal property ie: jets skis, etc. I just submit and let him have his way in hopes he will back off, only he expects more, more, more. I ran into a retired guard member who was my instructor pilot when I got my civilian pilot license one day at a gas station and he stated he heard " they " were trying to run me off. I only worked harder and did more then to try to prove to the commander I am not the " worthless guy " as I had heard him secretly state. I do this by working harder, longer than the next guy, and bust my ass for fund raisers for the unit, and make our unit shine when compared to others on running ranges and the such, to where it gets to the point the Warrant Officer Commander tells me I am doing a good job, and way to go. The E7 does not like this and attempts in inconspicuous ways to have me fail, I imagine to keep me as a personal do-boy since he knew he had a green light from the CDR to screw with me. Ok so we all get the point, but the latest thing he has done is put me on orders for ADOS (Additional Duty for Operational Support ) formally ADSW ( active duty special work ) for a month to burn money at end of fiscal year, but had me work TWO months telling me I was on orders which I have email proof of. Added to this 4'6" E7 had me work weekends and holidays, even was made to go get National Guard tents and put up at the local park on Labor Day, a Federal Holiday so some Gospel Group that his wife knows to use, during which time he was gone on vacation with his wife and her kids, I said that correct. I found out I was only on orders one month when I called TRI-CARE Reserve Select to tell them I had been on two months orders and I need to reinstate my Reserve Select from Active Duty Tri-care plan, at which time I as told was on orders for one month. I was called out by the 4'6" E7 to the CDR during the second month of orders saying I was there to work on an inspection and I had not even looked at the criteria for the inspection, when in all honesty he had me delivering vehicles for repair for other units to make him look good and the other units owe him favors, during the time I was supposedly on orders. Thing is this guy is a real prick with other soldiers too, and I remember two years back when he called a young SPC out in formation because the SPC had come forward to the 4'6"E7 acting 1SG after a suicide awareness class to identify he was having problems. So this 4'6" E7 ridicules a young soldier for admitting he is having personal troubles. Another young soldier is having medical problems and he is afraid to approach the 4'6" E7 for fear of being made fun of. The African American E5, now E6 has recently learned he was somewhat tricked to switch MOS's to open the E7 slot for the 4'6" E7 acting 1SG I have discussed.

This guy is out-of line and has created a Toxic Leadership causing dissension within enlisted leadership and soldiers. The Warrant Officer knows he cannot handle any spotlight from HQ higher up because he has held an Line Officer's slot by skin of his teeth for years and found a nest where he is comfortable and near his place of residence, so he has something to loose by asking for any intervention from HQ.

In december I was given the honor of being rated Excellent in ALL interview subjects at an Officer Field Board. I am not a " cry baby ", and not one time in 16 years have I made a complaint, not once. It comes a point to when you as a soldier become more concerned for the treatment of your younger soldiers and their needs, which this person does not know how to accommodate. I know if I say something it could bring the label of " he rocks the boat " guy, but I have earned respect and my place within the honest community of leaders in the National Guard, so I am not really worried about any repercussion for calling the aforementioned accountable for their actions, although I am concerned about the welcome home I will have if I decide to come back to the National Guard from Reserve in the future as i am still young in some sense being I joined at 17 years of age.

I have the Commanders Legal Guide , but soldiers and servicemen/women here, as peers and experienced members of our service. Which direction would you go with this? In your opinion please, the pros, and cons of the route you would take to deal with this situation. I know there are protocols in writing but please I am asking for your personal opinion and experiences. Sometimes the right way can get you left alone.

Before the OP has this conversation with his CSM, he needs to think 2-3 steps ahead just in case the CSM is unable or unwilling to rectify the situation. If the CSM is going to ignore it or, worse, cover for those involved, then he needs to be ready to escalate it very quickly because the longer this drags on the easier it is for others to cover their tracks.

Comment

Re: Need advice on what to do with out of line " Acting 1SG " your opinion please

Apologize Gentlemen for the late reply.

You are spot on 1LT with your advice. The CSM of my State is old " Buddies " with the Warrant Officer ( Acting CDR ) of mine. I do have email evidence of the wrong doing of the acting 1SG which is a SFC though..

Just to clarify above I ONLY referenced height and race of the NCO's to help clarify for the reader between NCO's since I mentioned so many times the ranks of several people I discussed in the post.

Thanks so much for your advice. I imagine the best thing to do is keep silent until I have made the switch to USAR.

Comment

Re: Need advice on what to do with out of line " Acting 1SG " your opinion please

"Ma, my black friend James said I was a prejudice and I said I was not." "Son, I can see why since you referred to him as your "black" friend and not just his friend".

I do not know why African-American or 4'6" is relevant in your post. Or does the southern Guard still refer that way to people of those types?

First of all, CW2s (now WO1s) can be Commanders. Are we supposed to Command as Warrants? No, since we have a specialized role but we are Commissioned and fall under the same as regular Commissioned Officers. It appears that you are suggesting since a WO is Commanding, that he is not competent/qualifed to assume that role.

Now, you did not graduate WOCS (what is WOCs?) and one thing (I been a Warrant for five years) is that learn from day 1 to not to do is gripe whatsoever to lower, higher or on a forum but within our own peer circle so obviously you did not learn that when you went to WOCS. Warrant Officers are problem solvers - period. That is what we do.

Second, in the military, on a daily basis, there is work conflicts and personality issues. You have to learn how to deal with these situations and use the chain of command to express your concerns; even in counseling. 16 years, you should know that by now.

It is a shame you getting a direct commission because again; you are not learning the required officership and might have issues from day 1 as a 2LT. I just get that vibe from this post.

I suggest since you drill just one weekend a month, is to just bide your time until you move over to the USAR.

I suggest since you drill just one weekend a month, is to just bide your time until you move over to the USAR.

If what the OP claims is true, I usually do not recommend just "biding time" until he transfers over to the USAR. In this business, the worst possible option is to be taken for a coward. Once people think you're a coward, they will continually treat you as a coward.

I was in a situation much worse than the OP right before I commissioned. Long story short, I was at the top of my (State) OCS class (academics, PT, etc.). Then right as the course finished, I was told I would not be commissioned due to "poor performance". Mind you, there was not a single counseling statement done to document a "pattern of poor performance". Basically, the OCS unit decided it would be okay to make up ****.

The way I look at it, there is no way I'm going down without taking everyone down with me. The game we're going to play is "How far do you think I'm willing to go?" and "Who has more to lose?".

I dropped an EO, IG, NGB-IG, DA IG, and contacted the offices of both my Senators and my Congressman. EO and IG (both state level) were just BS. They were unwilling to correct a systemic breakdown in the chain of command. I was not surprised because the BN CDR at the time was the Execute Assistant to the TAG. The office that ended up coming through was my Congressman since he had a District Rep. who was also a member of that unit and was a witness to everything I claimed in my complaint. Within a couple days, everyone from the LTC down were gone! People scrambled to get out of that unit. What should have been a career maker became a career ender.

(Here's the skinny on how this entire process plays out. It's important to keep in mind that none of these offices will be a knock out punch for you. Making it rain on a unit is a grinding process. What you do is drop an EO complaint because those things are hard to prove or disprove. But they always serve as a black mark for the allege perpetrator - and the command for allowing it to happen. Then within a week, you filed an IG complaint. You let them get halfway through their investigation and then you involved other offices such as Members of Congress or NGB. The point of this is that while your command is busy responding to the EO complaint, they are hit with an IG complaint. Now they have to respond to two different complaints. When they think they have a handle on what's going on, they are going to be fielding questions from Members of Congress, NGB, etc. The overall strategy is that when they cannot keep up with the constant query and stress, their house of cards will fall. At that point, they've lost and you won.)

I went on to AOCS and moved on with my career. From that day forward, no one has ever f*ked with me or my career.

OP: The worst thing you can do is nothing because if you are set on transferring to the USAR, you might actually get there faster by going nuclear and filing complaints at multiple offices. By the time the investigations roll around, your command will be pushing to get your DD386 signed so you are no longer their problem. For the most part, once you leave their problems begin to end.

Comment

Re: Need advice on what to do with out of line " Acting 1SG " your opinion please

if the OP claims is true

LT,

If a Soldier will be in a unit for X amount of years and issues are hindering his personal and professional growth; then I agree with the actions that you have stated.

Perhaps, the way he stated his issues and the way he labeled the people involved, still tells me that as a 16 year SSG, he still has a lot to learn and maturity issues.

I would have used SGT A and SSG B to distinguish the individuals. He seems to think that is someone is an E-7 1SG, WO CDR or someone that is 4'6" that there is something wrong with that.

One of the best 1SGs in my BN was an E-7 that was promotable and not frocked. He went downrange with his company and has recently been promoted to E-8 and got the diamond. He is still the Top. Some of the best 1SGs that I met were E-7s.

Also, I have come across a very short male SSG in another company that I thought was a midget. You have to see how he looks like in ACUs. His uniform can fit my oldest daughter. He is a squad leader and respected. Compared to other NCOs that I have seen in a long time, he is disciplined and professional. I have heard the short jokes they make to him and behind his back and he shrugs it off. My point being that not all short Soldiers have a Napoleon complex.

When I was an E-5, I was told "shut the F(*( up" by my platoon sergeant (who did not like me) in front of all the platoon. Off-line, I asked to speak to him in private and I said that I did not think that was right to say that in front of the platoon and my fellow NCOs. He said "OK" and shook my hand and that never happened again. When you are an NCO, you should have the mental fortitude to discuss your concerns as a mature adult to the person; even if they are senior to you. You should sit down with the 1SG and CDR and tell them how you feel. That is what an open door policy is for. Giving tickets to games is not a solution to a problem. Plus, I could see and understand if its active duty when someone who outranks you; you may feel intimidated and comply but this is the Guard, where relationships are much more informal that AD. Just tell the guy to back the hell off. I was like that in the Guard, Marines, etc. Since that person does not rate you; then you very much latitude to get away from their control.

His post was about the "acting 1SG" but gave a long story about everything else. Where is this living hell? I can see the details without pay but getting ADOS is a good thing and not easy to get. When I was in the Guard and you were not liked or a soup-sandwich; you did not get ADSW - period. If you are being forced to come in on non-drill days and not getting paid; then just make an IG complaint. A 16-year SSG won't know how to do that? You have the Commanders legal guide and did great on a board but cannot use common sense? I do not think he is a coward but should be strong enough to confront the issue. This is not rocket science. E-mail evidence?

So that is why I said to bide your time. Obviously, the OP did not take the simplest steps in handling a common problem so sometimes with those types; it is just best to lay low and move on (which he is in a few months). I do not see a type-A personality in him. Personally, I do not get a sense of WO or CO material; regardless if you are an NCO or have degrees. That does not mean, you are able to handle the levels of those ranks nor qualified to.

Comment

Re: Need advice on what to do with out of line " Acting 1SG " your opinion please

to: Chief Kemosabe; Sir you make some good points that I will heed to and try to make those corrections. I was on a rant and venting when I originally wrote this post. Thank you for your advice and for taking time to read my post.

to: Marine2Guard 1 Lt. Got your PM, and will respond promptly.

Thank you men for your advice I will definitely use all input to try and make myself a better leader for our soldiers.

to: Chief Kemosabe; Sir you make some good points that I will heed to and try to make those corrections. I was on a rant and venting when I originally wrote this post. Thank you for your advice and for taking time to read my post.

to: Marine2Guard 1 Lt. Got your PM, and will respond promptly.

Thank you men for your advice I will definitely use all input to try and make myself a better leader for our soldiers.

Happy Easter as well!

Well, you do have a good attitude. Good luck with your future endeavors.